


Abandoned

by ArcticLights



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, I'm serious this is not canon it will look like canon but it isn't please don't kill me, Oikawa Cries, Other, POV Alternating, So do a couple others, What Have I Done, good senpai
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-07
Updated: 2016-08-07
Packaged: 2018-08-07 06:11:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7703554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArcticLights/pseuds/ArcticLights
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kindaichi has had enough of his resident king and decides he needs to be dethroned. But was it the right decision?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Abandoned

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MusicPrincess655](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MusicPrincess655/gifts).



> WHAT AM I DOINNGGGGGGG??????
> 
> I wrote this for MusicPrincess655 because she got me started on writing. It really is way too presumptuous of me to dedicate my second ever fic to someone, but this idea had been bouncing around in my head long before I ever decided to write anything.
> 
> This was semi-beta'd by a friend who doesn't really beta but said she would help because my beta that I had lined up didn't respond for 18 hours and I am kind of impatient lol.
> 
> The alternating POV is between Kags and Kindaichi, but this will primarily be from Kindaichi's POV.

The Egocentric King. The Oppressive Dictator. Kageyama didn’t know it, but that’s how his team viewed him.

 

Kosen blocks Kindaichi yet again.

 

 _Damn, they block high. We have to get past them somehow. We need a much faster attack… So fast that it’s unblockable._ “You need to move faster!” snarls a clearly frustrated Kageyama.

 

Kageyama sets a ball for Kindaichi that goes too quickly out of his reach.

 

“Are you kidding?! Your tosses are reckless! What’s the point if we can’t spike them?!” Kindaichi yells. _Doesn’t he realize that his job is to set it to where we can spike it?_

 

Kageyama is so focused on his thoughts that the complaints from his teammates go unheard. _We can’t win if we don’t get past their blocks… Is this the end? Is this where we lose? No! We are going to Nationals!_

 

“Move faster! Jump higher! Match my tosses, if you want to win!” Kageyama shouts, shooting a focused glare at his team.

 

_I can get it to where they won’t block you, so just make sure you get there!_

It gets to the end of the first set against Kosen Academy, with Kosen’s set point. Kindaichi and the rest of Kitagawa Daiichi have had enough of the oppressive attitude from their resident king. As Kageyama is off by himself thinking of who knows what, probably of how to ‘control his subjects’ better, Kindaichi approaches the rest of the team. “I think we should dethrone our king.”

 

“How exactly do you plan to do that?” asks Kunimi.

 

“This is the end of the set. We are clearly not going to take this one, so let’s try our best without our backup setter the other two sets.” Kindaichi frowns, “He has been ordering us around for far too long and I think we shouldn’t even bother with this last point. I don’t know about you, but as a spiker, I am going to refuse to hit his next toss. That will prove to him that we are no longer willing to follow him and let him continue his rule.”

 

_He deserves to be abandoned after how he has been treating us._

Looks are exchanged between the team and the captain scratches the back of his head, “It’s true that at this rate we are getting nowhere. He seems to have no respect for any of us as players, nor for me as a captain. We need to put him in his place, even if it ends up costing us the tournament. We won’t be able to continue this any longer.” he pauses to check everyone’s reaction. “I suppose this has us reaching a decision.” Everyone nods.

 

Kageyama stands near the middle of the net mumbling to himself. _We are better than this, all of us are. As a setter I should be able to tear the blocks away from my spikers. All of the guys on this team are good. All of them are fast. All of them are strong. Even Kunimi if he would just PUT IN THE EFFORT! They are talented enough to be able to sync with me but it isn’t working. I have to fix this. The setter is the control tower. I should be able to get the team to run smoothly to be able to get us a win and nothing is working. GOD this is frustrating how the hell am I supposed to do this?_

 

Kosen serves the ball, the libero picks it up and hits it straight to Kageyama.

 

 _Yes, this is perfect, I just need to put it in the right spot and we will have this_.

 

He sets it behind him for the opposite side to hit the ball and…. Thud. The ball goes untouched and lands on the line. Not a single spiker even made an attempt to hit the ball. They all just stood near the back line, backs facing towards Kageyama.

 

_Rejection. I messed this up. I failed my team. I couldn’t help lead them to victory and I was so bad that they didn’t even want to try. I was so bad that they couldn’t even face me._

 

The coach sighs from the sidelines, “Kageyama. Go sit on the bench.”

 

\--

 

Kageyama goes on to high school at Karasuno. The rest of Kitagawa Daiichi moves on to other schools. Primarily Aoba Josai, where Kindaichi and Kunimi have joined the starting line-up as first years.

 

Kageyama has basically shut himself off from his new team right from the start.

 

_I don’t think I could survive being rejected like that again._

The new first year recruits are doing a 3-on-3 match with both sides having a current team member from another year. Kageyama is paired with annoying shrimp called Hinata and a seemingly aggressive second year named Tanaka. The other team has the captain, Daichi, and the two, very tall, other first years named Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. Kageyama tries to set to his new spikers but they keep getting intercepted by the powerful defense on the other side.

 

He is called out on his former kingly attitude by Tsukishima. He shares the story of the Egocentric King who was abandoned by his subjects in the middle of the match. He makes Kageyama relive his rejection that hurt his heart and his pride straight down to his core.

 

“Yeah it’s true. The fact that I made a toss, and no one was there…” He grits his teeth “Is truly frightening.”

 

“But that was back in junior high, right?” Hinata, piped up. “You toss to me just fine. It makes no difference to me. The real problem for me is how I’m going to get past YOU!” Hinata points at Tsukishima.

 

The rest of the club starts laughing and Hinata approaches Kageyama. “We’ll win against Tsukishima, become official club members, and you will bravely play setter! AND you will toss to me! What else is there?”

 

Kageyama just stares at the incredibly short wing spiker who now stands firmly in front of him.

 

_This shrimpy sucks. He can’t even receive a ball properly and now he is standing in front of me telling me that I am going to be his setter. Is this kid crazy? How am I supposed to help him get past the blockers if he doesn’t even have the basics down? How can he be so confident that I will be his setter? What if I fail him and he abandons me like the others did?_

 

The match continues on, Tsukishima serves and Tanaka receives it and has the ball going straight back to Kageyama. Both Tanaka and Hinata call for the ball and start running for the net.

 

_Who do I toss to? Hinata can’t beat Tsukishima one-on-one…_

 

“KAGEYAMA!”

 

Kageyama is suddenly jerked out of his thoughts by Hinata who is already flying through the air.

 

“I’m here!”

 

Kageyama sends the ball flying towards Hinata as quickly as he can and Hinata swings and barely catches it with his fingertips and the ball flounders over the net, but lands just outside of the court.

 

“That was close. I almost missed. It was out though…”

 

“WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!”

  
“BUT THE BALL CAME TO ME!” Hinata shouts then turns to face Kageyama, “Forget about junior high. I’ll take any toss I can get, _gratefully_. I’ll jump anywhere. I’ll hit ANY ball. So, toss it to me!”

 

Suddenly Kageyama feels that he just might have a team again.

 

\--

 

Kindaichi and Kunimi are among several first year recruits for Aoba Josai’s Boys Volleyball team. Having been invited to the school to play their sport it was clear that the school had intended to have them play, so immediately moving to first string as first years was no surprise to them or any of the other first string players.

 

Oikawa and Iwaizumi had been their senpai before in middle school so having them there again when they moved on to high school was a relieving factor for them both. The fact that Oikawa had played setter for them before as well and knew what attacks they were good at helped make their integration into the team that much smoother.

 

A couple months after practices started, Oikawa and Iwaizumi decided to keep the two first years after practice to talk to them about their time at Kitagawa Daiichi after they left.

 

Kindaichi starts to rant, “I wish we had been in the same year as you Oikawa-san. Dealing with Kageyama as a setter was the worst. He couldn’t even do his job which is to set the ball so that the spikers could hit it. How are we supposed to score if our own setter is making it impossible? It got so bad that in our last tournament we had to turn our backs on him just to have a setter whose ball we could hit!”

 

Kunimi just stood by the side humming in agreement.

 

“I don’t know about that Kindaichi. Part of the setter’s job is to tear the block away from the spikers too.” says Oikawa as he flips some hair out of his face and then places a hand on his hip. “Are you sure he wasn’t just trying to help? He has never been very good at communication.”

 

“HA! Him? HELP? All he does is yell at us to move faster and jump higher and match his tosses! How are we supposed to do that if he sets it so far out of our reach?” Kindaichi grits his teeth, “He just wanted his pawns to move the way he wanted; and when they didn’t all he would do is scowl and yell. Stupid King, I’m glad we don’t have to suffer under his rule anymore.”

 

“That seems a bit unfair don’t you think?” Iwaizumi asks. “Did you guys even try to talk to him or strategize with him…”

 

“IT WOULD HAVE BEEN POINTLESS!” Kindaichi cuts him off, fuming. “There is no way he would listen to any of us. All he does is bark orders and set it wherever he wants regardless of if we can hit it.”

 

“Hmmm, if you didn’t even try then how would you know?” Oikawa says giving Kindaichi a questioning look. “For all you know he may have been trying his best by himself, since none of you would talk to him. He is the type to hide away if he feels disconnected and wouldn’t try to talk to you himself.”

 

Kindaichi looks to the ground. “How would we know anything like that? All he did was yell. Of course we would distance ourselves from him.”

 

Iwaizumi glares at the two first years. “So instead of even thinking to try your first option was to give up? Are you sure you even wanted to win?”

 

The first years didn’t know what to say and silently stare into the ground. _Were we really wrong? No… We couldn’t be, even the coach agreed to bench him after what we did…_

 

“Okay, that’s enough Iwa-chan. “Oikawa wraps his arm around the shorter ace’s shoulder, “I think we gave them plenty to think about for the time being.” He turns to face the two first years, “I should let you know that the coach has set up a practice match between us and Karasuno.”

 

The first years both look up in shock.

 

“I asked them to have the condition be that Kageyama be the main setter the entire match. I hope you are looking forward to it.”

 

\--

 

Kindaichi is walking from the clubroom to the gym with the second year setter Yahaba.

 

“Hey,” Yahaba starts, “that Karasuno team that’s coming today… isn’t that where you-know-who goes?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“The ‘King of the Court’. You went to the same junior high he did, didn’t you, Kindaichi?”

 

“Oh, you mean Kageyama? He’s no big deal. Sure, he was head and shoulders above the rest in skill, but he’s just not cut out to be a team player. At ALL.” Kindaichi scowls, ”He’s too egocentric”

 

“I see…. I guess since he went to Karasuno, his strength as a player must be a thing of the past. Besides, all I know about Karasuno is that their manager is a beauty.”

 

“Are you serious?!”

 

“That’s right. She’s kind of sexy. Oh yeah, and there is a riff-raff kind of guy there too. He’s got a shaved head, and an unpleasant look in his eyes. He looks _really_ stupid.”

 

Suddenly a bald teenager appears around the corner of the building with an exaggerated look of curiosity on his face “HMMMM?”

 

Yahaba and Kindaichi jump back as Kageyama, the bald kid, some tall blonde, and a freckled kid with a major cowlick all come around the corner.

 

“U-ummm…” Yahaba stutters out looking anywhere but at the Karasuno players.

 

The baldy glares at the two, “Don’t underestimate us too much, or we’ll eat you alive.” As the rest of the Karasuno players stare them down.

 

Yahaba and Kindaichi nearly jump out of their skin at the sudden change of atmosphere.

 

The tall blonde smirks, “You shouldn’t threaten them like that, Tanaka-san. Look what you did. You scared these poor elites. Now I feel sorry for them.”

 

“We-We’re not intimidated!” Kindaichi stammers out.

 

“Oh, you’re right.” Tanaka says casually, then puts on the most intimidating face that he can “We should save our bullying for the match”

 

Suddenly Sawamura, Karasuno’s captain, comes running around the corner. “YOU GUYS! I can’t let you out of my sight!” He grabs Tanaka by the head and forces him to bow, “We apologize.”

 

“Ah, no. It’s ok” Yahaba looks at the spectacle in front of him in awe.

 

Tanaka tries to lift his face to give them an intimidating glare and Sawamura growls “Tanaka, stop that look!”

 

As the members from Karasuno start walking back to the gym Kindaichi calls out to Kageyama. “It’s been a while, King. What sort of dictatorship do you belong to these days? I’m looking forward to seeing it in the match.”

 

Kageyama doesn’t even look at Kindaichi, he just looks straight ahead and simply says “Yeah.” and continues to walk away.

 

"Why is he pretending to be so passive?" Kindaichi mutters to himself.

 

\--

 

Both teams are now in the gym and Yahaba and Kindaichi are headed towards the restrooms before they join in the warm-ups.

 

“What’s the matter with these guys from Karasuno?” Yahaba bites out, irritated. “All they’ve got is a big attitude.”

 

“That’s true.” says Kindaichi. When he turns to look forward he sees a smaller boy with a mop of orange hair coming out of the bathroom. “Hey. You’re a first year at Karasuno?”

 

“Y-Yeah, I am.”

 

“Well, then how is Kageyama doing? Our king seems pompous, as usual.” Kindaichi says as he leans over to leer at the boy.

 

“That’s not how he is!” He shouts back, startling Kindaichi. “It’s not about being pompous.” the boy balls his hand into a fist and starts shaking. “Under the dictatorship of the Great King Kageyama… commoners like me are cruelly oppressed, made to bitterly suffer. Just because he’s a little skilled! WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS?”

 

Kindaichi looks smugly over at Yahaba, “What did I tell you?”

 

Yahaba chuckles, “He’s utterly despised.”

 

Kindaichi stands to the side, “There is no doubting his skill at receiving, blocking, and serving.” The orange haired boy stands next to him “That’s right. It’s aggravating.”

 

“But his toss is the worst.”  
“But his toss is amazing.”

 

Kindaichi looks over at the boy. “His toss?”

 

The boy looks back up at him, “Is amazing.”

 

Kindaichi sighs, “You’ve never spiked one of his tosses in a match before, have you? They’re terrible. They’re too difficult to spike.”

 

The boy cocks his head to the side, “Is that so?”

 

Kindaichi sets his face in a hard glare. “Because he’s an egocentric king. He’s a setter, and yet he can’t so his most important job: letting the spiker hit the ball. What Kageyama needs are pawns he can maneuver as he wills. Anything he doesn’t need to win, he discards.” Kindaichi makes a motion with his hand as if he is throwing something away.

 

The boy gives him a curious look then suddenly there is laugher coming from behind Yahaba that startles the group as they look towards the source.

 

_This is that baldy from Karasuno…. I think his captain said his name was Tanaka._

 

“Let’s wait until the match to see if Kageyama is still the same as he was in junior high, Turnip-kun.”

 

Kindaichi balks, “HUH?!” _Turnip-kun? What kind of name is that?_

 

“Right, Hinata?”

 

The three boys look over at Hinata and he seems to be deep in thought, until he suddenly hunches over nervously saying “My stomach hurts.” as he rushes back into the bathroom.

 

Kindaichi smirks back at Tanaka, “Well, we look forward to it.”

 

\--

 

The first set of the practice match is going very well for Seijoh. The tiny boy with the orange hair named Hinata seems to be one of their middle blockers. It seems that he is extremely nervous and he is consistently messing things up for his entire team by being in everyone’s way. Receiving balls that someone else could have got easier and cleaner, running into his teammates, tripping over his own feet, even one time knocking over the up-judge.

 

When the score reaches 24-13 in Seijoh’s favor Kageyama apparently has had enough and Kindaichi can see him grab Hinata by his bib and start screaming in his face. Kindaichi sports a smirk on his face at the sight. “They’re really not a big deal.”

 

Kunimi looks at the spectacle, “He sure hasn’t changed, at all.”

 

The Karasuno captain tries to rile up his team, “All right! Let’s steadily rack up the points! The next serve will be…” and his face pales as he turns around.

 

The nervous wreck that was formerly known as Hinata is at the back line, sweating and holding the ball while slowly turning blue. He is shaking and staring at the ball when the ref blows the whistle to signal that he can serve. It startles him and the ball flies into the air and he absentmindedly hits the ball towards the net then…. _SMACK!_ Then a quiet thud as the ball bounces to the floor…. Hinata had served the ball straight into the back of Kageyama’s head.

 

Both teams just stare at Kageyama silently for a couple moments as he turns around to glare at Hinata. Then the silence is broken by Tanaka and Tsukishima.

 

“PFFT! OI! IS YOUR HEAD OKAY?”  
  
“NICE HEADSHOT, MAN!”

 

They both grab their stomachs as they continue to howl with laughter. Hinata looks like he has passed on to the afterlife with a dead look in his eyes; meanwhile the Captain tries to get the other two to calm down and shut up.

 

Seijoh watches from their back line, where they are already lined up, as Kageyama turns around and stalks over to Hinata. Hinata backs up and is nearly cornered against the wall when Kageyama leers over him. He starts smacking the back of his head as he is talking to the smaller boy. Suddenly he whips his hand to point towards the court and yells, “GET BACK TO NORMAL, YOU JACKASS!” and starts walking to the back line before they switch sides of the court.

 

Kindaichi watches on and is slightly amazed at the sight.

 

_Kageyama just got hit in the back of the head by that shrimpy kid and all he did was go over there to encourage him? What was that?_

 

Before they start the second set it seems Tanaka has gone over to Hinata to lecture him. The conversation seems to go on for a bit then suddenly Tanaka raises his voice as if to make a point. “Listen to me. In volleyball, everyone on this side of the net is your ally!”  This seems to rally up Hinata in time for the second set.

 

As they get into position Kindaichi takes his chance to talk to Hinata, “Oi, teach me later how to serve to the back of the head.” with a giant smirk on his face.

 

Hinata gets embarrassed and tries to scowl and Tsukishima chimes in “Teach me later, too.” with a smirk to match Kindaichi’s.

 

The set starts and Kindaichi carefully watches his opponents. _There’s no quick… maybe it’ll be open, from the left or right…_ Suddenly Hinata charges at the net. _What?_ Kageyama sets the ball quickly to where Hinata has sprinted to. _They do a quick?_ Hinata swings as hard as he can but misses the ball and lands as the ball falls into the net.

 

_Was that just a bluff? Either way…_

 

“If you can’t spike a ball like that, the King will get mad.” Hinata jumps and turns to look at him.

 

“Hinata.” Hinata stiffens his back at the sound of Kageyama’s voice.

 

“See?” Kindaichi says with a smirk.

 

“Sorry, that toss was a bit high.” says Kageyama, with a hand in front of his face in the form of an apology.

 

Kindaichi and Kunimi both stare in shock and awe.

 

Kindaichi just can’t believe it, “Kageyama…”

 

“Apologized?” Kunimi finished, just as surprised.

 

The next point Kageyama and Hinata successfully do a quick so fast that the entire Seijoh team hadn’t even reacted until after the ball had already hit the ground. Karasuno starts cheering and Tsukishima just glares at them and says “There it is, the freak toss-and-spike.”

 

The people watching on the second floor erupt. “DID YOU SEE THAT? THAT WAS FAST!”

 

The Karasuno captain gathers the team around “One-two, YEAH!”

 

The team gets back into position and Kageyama calls out, “Hinata is back in action. It’s time for a counter attack.”

 

Kindaichi and Kunimi just stare in wonder.

 

 _When did he start acting like that? He’s talking to his team and ENCOURAGING them… He hasn’t even yelled this set_.

 

The next ball goes into play and Hinata charges at the net. Iwaizumi and Kindaichi jump to form the block and Kindaichi yells out, “If I know it’s coming there’s nothing to fear!”

 

Then Kageyama sets it over to Tanaka on the opposite side of the court. Yahaba jumps to block, but misses, and Kunimi was a half of a second too slow to get the ball as it slammed onto the court.

 

“HOW DO YOU LIKE ME NOW, TURNIP-KUN? I told you we’d get you during the match!”

 

Kindaichi scowls and turns around. “Damn.”

 

Iwaizumi approaches him and says, “Don’t sweat it Kindaichi. We have our attack strategy. Don’t let them get to you.”

 

“Right.”

 

The set is going slightly in Karasuno’s favor, and to break their momentum Seijoh calls a time out. During the time out Yahaba approaches Kindaichi, “Oi, Kindaichi. Kageyama isn’t like what you said.”

 

Kunimi looks away to the ground and Kindaichi sports a confused look as he responds, “I wasn’t expecting that either. I can’t believe there’s a spiker who can sync with his reckless tosses.”

 

Advisor Irihata cuts in, “That’s not what it is.” The three look up to their advisor. “Number Five isn’t looking at the ball at all.”

 

The entire team looks confused. “Coach, what do you mean?” asks Kindaichi.

 

“I think Kageyama pinpoint-tossed the ball directly to where he was about to swing.”

 

“Is that kind of thing possible?” asks Iwaizumi in disbelief.

 

Kindaichi has a mix of frustration and confusion on his face. “Kageyama? Matching someone else?”

 

_That isn’t possible, he’s just an egocentric dictator. There is no way he would lower himself to match someone else, especially someone that bad._

 

Kunimi and Kindaichi exchange looks of disbelief as their advisor continues, “That can only mean that Number Five has the ability to make the egocentric and prideful Kageyama do what he’s been doing. What’s amazing is that he jumps believing in Kageyama 100%. He believes that’s where the ball will come.” he pauses to look at the whole team, “If they get past your block, receive solidly! You’re all the best members of our team. Show your pride!”

 

“Yes!” the team responds in unison.

 

The set continues and Karasuno eventually takes it, then the cavalry arrives. Oikawa walks in behind the coaches and all of the girls in the stands start cheering.

 

“Oh. You’re back Oikawa. How’s the ankle?” asks Advisor Irihata.

 

“It’s perfect. I can get back to regular practice.” He says with a smile. “It was only a slight sprain.”

 

“For crying out loud! Be careful. You’re the one that asked to play against Kageyama. What do we do without our official setter? It’s embarrassing.”

 

“I’m sorry.” says Oikawa before he turns to look over at Karasuno with a smile and a wave, “Yoo-hoo! Long time no see Tobio-chan! So nice to see you. You still doing the King thing?” Kageyama turns away without acknowledging him.

 

Kindaichi glowers from the side _. He doesn’t even respond when his senpai is talking to him? How egocentric can he get?!_

 

Advisor Irihata is getting irritated with Oikawa’s carefree attitude and barks at him, “Anyway, go get warmed up. Even more than usual!”

 

“Okay…” Oikawa heads off to warm up and the final set starts.

 

The score gets to 24-20 with match point to Karasuno.

 

Kindaichi jumps up to spike the ball, “Don’t get cocky!” and slams the ball off Tsukishima’s arms.

 

Oikawa finishes his warm up and comes up behind Advisor Irihata, “Oh my. We’re in a crisis.”

 

“Did you get warmed up?”

 

“Perfectly.”

 

Kunimi is switched out for Oikawa and Oikawa tells him, “Leave the rest to your senpai.”

 

“Yes.”

 

Oikawa strides onto the court, palming the ball as he walks to the back line. “No matter how strong your offense is… it doesn’t matter if you can’t connect to it.” He takes his hand with the ball and points to Tsukishima.

 

Oikawa throws the ball in the air, runs up and slams the ball straight at Tsukishima. The ball bounces off his arms and into the railing on the second floor.

 

“Just as I thought.” says Oikawa with a smug look on his face, “I watched part of the match… You, Number Six, and you, Number Five.” Hinata and Tsukishima both look at him startled, “You’re not good receivers, are you? You must be first years.”

 

Oikawa turns and saunters back to the back line to serve again.

 

“Okay, let’s score another one.” He aims the ball at Tsukishima again and it ricochets off his hands. “Oh, one more point and we’re tied.”

 

Tsukishima looks visibly agitated and suddenly Hinata yells at Oikawa. “HEY! YOU! GREAT KING! Aim at me! I’ll Receive it! Aim here! Don’t underestimate me! Aim here!” while flailing his arms and stomping his feet.

 

Tsukishima glares at Hinata, “Stop making a fuss. It’s embarrassing.”

 

Hinata whips around, “What did you say?” and grits his teeth before shouting at Tsukishima, “In volleyball, EVERYONE on this side of the net is your ally!”

 

Tanaka seems severely moved by Hinata repeating back to Tsukishima what he said before. Then the captain gets everyone’s attention and has them change their positions on the court so that he covers most of it.

 

Tsukishima and Tanaka are covering the back corners, Hinata and the other wing spiker that hasn’t made much of an impression are covering the front corners and the captain is covering the remainder.

 

Oikawa gets ready to serve, tosses the ball in the air and as he’s serving he says, “You can’t defend it all by yourself!”

 

Tsukishima picks it up but it goes back over to Seijoh’s side of the net.

 

Oikawa looks at it as it comes through the air, gets in position and says, “There. A sweet, sweet chance ball. Score it good, guys.” And receives it, straight back to Yahaba.

 

Yahaba sets it behind himself to set Kindaichi up for a broad attack, “Kindaichi!”

 

_All right, I’ll completely thwart the block…_

 

When suddenly the mop of orange hair appears in front of him.

 

 _The shrimp… how is he here_?

 

Kindaichi hits the ball and it bounces off Hinata’s hand.

 

“It’s up!” yells Kageyama.

 

“Nice one touch!” shouts Tanaka.

 

“Damn! I’ll slam it down next time!” shouts Kindaichi as he glares at Hinata.

 

Suddenly as Hinata lands he takes off for the opposite side of the court in an all-out sprint and jumps through the air. Kageyama sets it behind, straight into Hinata’s hand and the ball flies through the court, past Oikawa’s head and slams into the corner.

 

Match over. Karasuno wins 2-1.

 

Oikawa looks at Karasuno in awe as the rest of Seijoh stands behind him gritting their teeth.

 

After the match Kindaichi goes to wash his face in the hallway sink.

 

“Kindaichi.”

 

Kindaichi turns and is faced with Kageyama. He starts thinking about how junior high and how he convinced the other players that Kageyama needed to be benched because he felt that Kageyama was impeding the team; and that they would all be better off without him.

 

Kageyama opens his mouth but Kindaichi cuts him off.

 

“Don’t apologize!” This startles Kageyama. “Because I won’t apologize either!”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“You’re still an oppressive king, as far as I’m concerned. You’re irritating and there’s no one I want to crush more than you.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“So don’t apologize.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“I’m not reconciling with you! We weren’t friends to begin with.”

 

“Yeah…”

 

“And the next time, we’ll win for sure.”

 

“The next time…”

 

They are interrupted by the sound of someone skipping down the hall and… singing about going to the bathroom? Hinata starts to round the corner and sees Kindaichi and Kageyama glaring back at him and he quickly darts back to where he came from.

 

“Kindaichi,” Kageyama continues, “The next time we battle, we will win again.” then Kageyama walks away.

 

Kunimi comes through the doors from the court from behind Kindaichi. “What were you guys talking about?”

 

“He… said ‘we’.”

 

Kunimi is shocked and looks over at Kageyama as he’s talking to Hinata. Then walks up to stand next to Kindaichi and looks over at him.

 

“Damn…” Kindaichi mutters, “I kind of feel defeated.”

 

Kunimi slaps him hard on the back and it startles him out of his funk “Wh-what was that for?”

 

\--

 

Oikawa had overheard the discussion between Kindaichi and Kageyama and wasn't pleased to find out that there was no reconciliation. He decided that something needed to be done. They may not be on the same team anymore but that doesn't mean they have to keep up this petty fight.

 

Being the captain made things easier for Oikawa to meddle. He brought Iwaizumi, Coach Mizoguchi, Advisor Irihata, and the coach for the university team they usually practice with, Takahashi Hayato.

 

"I think Kindaichi and Kunimi need to learn what happens when a team decides to not work with them."

 

Advisor Irihata gives a questioning look, "What do you mean Oikawa?"

 

"Well they were my kouhai back in junior high. Apparently after I left and they reached their third year they were having a difficult time with their setter and instead of trying to communicate and work with him they abandoned him during the match."

 

Coach Mizoguchi chimes in, "Ah yes, I remember that. It was the match against Kosen in the semi-finals. Kageyama is a good setter and was invited to our school as well."

 

"Mmhmm. The only problem with Kageyama is that communication isn't really a strong point for him. Though, based on that last practice match, he has gotten better.” Oikawa says with a small smile.

 

“I heard him and Kindaichi speaking after the match, and it seems that Kindaichi not only feels that he was right in what he did but refuses to try to resolve things with Kageyama. I think the only way he is going to get to a point where they can reconcile is to have Kindaichi experience what he did to Kageyama himself.” Oikawa looks to the ground as his says this, then Looks to the remainder of the group, “I was hoping to get assistance from everyone here... I definitely can't leave my kouhai thinking that it's okay to abandon their teammate even if they feel they are correct."

 

"You're planning to do what they did, to prove to them that it's wrong to do it? Isn't that a little backwards?" Iwaizumi asked incredulously.

 

Oikawa shrugs, "It would be the quickest and most effective way. Plus, if we do it during a practice match against a strong opponent like our university team here," he gestures to coach Takahashi, "it will be no harm to us during an actual tournament."

 

The room falls silent and Oikawa is starting to wonder if he will get the help he requested.

 

Coach Takahashi looks over at him, "So, how exactly do you plan to isolate them like they did to Kageyama? Do you really think you can get your whole team on board? Since this is a team sport where it all falls on how well you can work together it's going to be hard if they suddenly feel isolated out of nowhere. It isn't just a matter of abandoning them once because it will also be a matter of regaining their trust once this is over."

 

Advisor Irihata nods in agreement and Coach Mizoguchi rests his face in his hands. Silence takes over as everyone thinks on the situation.

 

"I don't think getting the whole team on board will be an issue." Iwaizumi cuts the silence. "We would be doing this to get them away from the mindset that they can decide things on their own. It’s not up to them as individuals to determine who they can isolate without even trying to communicate. It's basically a gamble to strengthen our bonds as a team. I think the fact that they know us," he gestures between himself and Oikawa, "and know we can and do work strongest as a solitary unit will make it easier to reintegrate them once they understand. They need to know that people are not solitary parts in a machine that you can just replace. They are just as irreplaceable as anyone else, and if we make that clear to them afterwards I think things will turn out fine. Oikawa may be a bit of a menace, but I do trust his judgment as a captain.”

 

Oikawa squeals and drapes himself over Iwaizumi's broad shoulders, "IWA-CHAN I DIDN'T KNOW HOW MUCH YOU CARED!"

 

"GET OFF OF ME TRASHYKAWA!"

 

Advisor Irihata sighs, "If Iwaizumi thinks they can make this work then I don't see why we would take the reins from the captain. Oikawa has led the team well up to this point and if he has the trust of his team I will agree to let this happen. Coaches, what do you say?"

 

Coach Mizoguchi looks at the captain and just nods.

 

Coach Takahashi thinks for a while and just responds with, "Let me know when you have your ideas planned out and formatted and I will look it over with my team before I formally agree. This plan doesn't sit well with me so I am a bit reluctant to place any hopes on it before I see how this is going to be done. I hope that is acceptable."

 

Everyone nods. They all know this is going to be rough, but they also know it can't be left alone.

 

\--

 

After the boys collaborate with their coach and advisor and bring their plan to Coach Takahashi he agrees to go along. Now the team has to be notified and hopefully they will also agree.

 

Hanamaki glares at Oikawa, "You want us to do _WHAT?!_ "

 

"We are going to isolate Kindaichi and Kunimi during a match. And lose." Oikawa says blankly.

 

"Oikawa," Matsukawa furrows his eyebrows, "I know you are a bit eccentric but this is taking things to a whole new level. We are a team. How are we supposed to just abandon our own? _Especially_ the youngest ones. This is crazy talk."

 

"Just hear him out guys…" Says Iwaizumi as he tries to placate the other third years.

 

Hanamaki squawks, " _IWAIZUMI!_ You are agreeing to this idea?"

 

The second years are watching in awe as the two most seemingly carefree players on their team berate their captain and vice for trying to force the team apart.

 

"Listen. It's not that I want to do this," Oikawa looks at the ground, "it's that I feel like I _need_ to. Both of them did this to one of their teammates as third years in junior high. Do you remember Kageyama from Karasuno?"

 

Oikawa looks up at the group and the rest of the team nods.

 

"They iced him out during a tournament last year and cost themselves the match. They didn't even try to talk out their differences, they just threw him out on the proverbial curb because they didn't like the way he was setting the ball.”

 

Oikawa sighs.

 

“After our practice match I heard Kindaichi and Kageyama talking and Kindaichi wouldn't let Kageyama apologize to him, nor would he apologize to Kageyama. Not only would he not reconcile but he also flat told Kageyama they had never been friends to begin with.”

 

The rest of the team exchanges looks of concern.

 

“The last thing I want is for them to view this team the same way. I want them to realize that we are all friends here. A team. A _family_. But I have to show them the way they acted was wrong. When Iwa-chan and I first spoke to them about the incident they could only view themselves as being right about the situation. The only way to get it through to them that it wasn't the right thing to do is to show them." Oikawa looks absolutely broken and the rest of the team sees how this was a tough decision for him to make.

 

Hanamaki and Matsukawa exchange glances and sigh in unison. "Alright captain. If you _really_ think this is the best and _only_ option, we will support you. But if this goes too far I can't say I will see it through to the end." says Hanamaki.

 

Matsukawa cuts in, "And _we_ will decide for ourselves what will be considered too far. We care about them too you know."

 

"Fair enough." Oikawa says with a shy smile. "How about you two?" he looks at Watari and Yahaba.

  
"Whatever you say captain." Yahaba replies and Watari nods in agreement.

 

\--

 

The coaches have organized a practice match with the local university that has some of Seijoh’s alumni. Practicing with teams more powerful and larger than they are is what they need to do to be able to bring themselves to the level necessary to defeat powerhouses like Shiratorizawa. The matches are difficult, but they are worthwhile practice matches.

 

“Okay team. We have played against Murasaki University before and have done well. This should be no different.” Oikawa says before he saunters off to the court. He turns around with his typical serious face before a match, “I believe in all of you.”

 

The atmosphere seems more tense than usual, Kindaichi and Kunimi can both feel it. Is it because they lost to the fallen Karasuno?

 

They just have to work harder to get past it is all. Everyone gets into position and Oikawa is set to serve first.

 

Oikawa hits a powerful serve towards the back of the court but the libero, Kita Takuya, receives the ball and it goes straight and high to give the setter, Akiyama Shirou, time to get into position. Akiyama does a quick set to his middle blocker, Hayashi Kenichi, and he hits the ball straight into Kindaichi and blows past his block and straight to the floor. The university team starts cheering and Kindaichi glares at the ball behind him, “Dammit…”

 

“It’s okay Kindaichi, let’s get the next one” Iwaizumi says as he pats him on the back.

 

“Yes!”

 

One of the wing spikers, Tachibana Rokuro, goes back to serve. The ref blows the whistle and he bounces the ball three times before throwing it into the air and hitting a powerful serve straight to Oikawa. He receives it nicely, “Makki, cover!”

 

“Yes, sir! Kunimi!”

 

Kunimi jumps up but Hayashi is already there. The giant middle blocker easily covers Kunimi and blocks the ball straight into the ground.

 

“Tch.” Kunimi clicks his tongue and gets back into position.

 

“All right, all right! Let’s get the next one!” Makki shouts.

 

The set continues on. Murasaki seems to be focusing their attacks on the two first years. This seems to be a common trend whenever they face an older and stronger team, but it seems to have a stronger intent than normal. Almost… vicious. The two first years are feeling the pressure and they can feel the frustration coming off of their senpai in waves.

 

It’s currently 18-23 in favor of Murasaki when Oikawa comes back up to serve. He slams the ball straight at Akiyama who receives it. Kita hits the ball over to the net, towards their opposite hitter, Mizushima Taro. Iwaizumi and Kindaichi jump for the block and Mizushima slams the ball off of Kindaichi’s fingertips. The ball flies off towards the back, Watari dives for it but can’t reach it in time and the ball lands on the ground, just out of reach. Watari is getting visibly frustrated and slams his fist onto the court. “Next one!” he snarls out.

 

Kindaichi and Kunimi have never seen Watari this upset. They look at each other hoping one will have a suggestion but they both just end up looking at each other desperately to no avail.

 

“N-nice effort Watari-senpai. We’ll get the next one” Kindaichi says to Watari and Watari just glares at him, then gets into position. Kindaichi just stands there stunned before Iwaizumi barks at him to get into position.

 

It’s set point and Tachibana is back up to serve. This time he hits a jump floater and it tips off the top of the net and falls between the two first years. They dive for the ball but don’t reach it in time.

 

The referee blows the whistle to signal the end of the set. Everyone lines up on the back line. The third years and Watari all visibly frustrated and the two first years looking defeated.

 

 _They scored so many points off of me this match…. I’ve been letting everyone down…_ Goes through both of their minds.

 

The teams switch sides and gather around to talk before the new set. The first years are off to the side while the remaining players talk amongst themselves to try to form a strategy for the next set.

 

Kindaichi and Kunimi look at each other with concern. They can tell something is off. Normally the other players would be standing in a more open stance to include everyone, but they are being shut out.

 

“The other team got a lot of points off of us that last set…. Maybe they are just frustrated?” says Kindaichi, “If we can get those points back in the second set they should calm down, right?” Kindaichi looks pleadingly at Kunimi.

 

Kunimi sighs, “That’s if we can get those points back… we are only first years in high school and these are second and third year university students. They are bigger and more powerful than us, we can’t overpower them ourselves.”

 

“B-BUT WE HAVE TO!” Kindaichi stammers out while staring at his feet, “I can’t stand the senpai being so upset because they keep scoring off of me…”

 

“Oi! Kindaichi, Kunimi! Get back onto the court, we’re waiting on you two!” Advisor Irihata calls out.

 

The two first years look back and everyone else is on the court, including the university team, and all of them are glaring with impatience at the first years. Both boys blush out of embarrassment and rush into position.

 

This set starts with Murasaki to serve first. One of the other wing spikers, Nakamura Yuudai is up to serve. He bounces the ball twice, throws the ball in the air and slams it hard. The ball falls into the net and lands on their side of the court.

 

“Sorry! My bad!” he calls out, the rest of the team just shouts back that they will get the next one.

 

Iwaizumi is up to serve. He throws the ball into the air and slams it hard right where Akiyama is trying to get past Kita to get to the front line. Service ace. Things are starting to look up, Seijoh has managed to get a break right at the beginning of the set.

 

Things start going south pretty quickly after that. The next serve Kita picks up the ball, Akiyama sets it and Mizushima gets another wipe off of Kindaichi.

 

Tachibana is up to serve next, Watari receives the ball, gets it straight back to Oikawa who tries to get a broad attack over to Kindaichi but Hayashi gets a hand on it. Kita picks up the ball and Akiyama does a dump over Kunimi’s head and the ball falls to the floor.

 

Their 2-point lead is gone just as quickly as they got it. And it was off of the first years. Again.

 

Kunimi and Kindaichi are feeling the pressure, but Iwaizumi gets a back-attack in using a pipe. Kindaichi is up to serve. He serves the ball over, Nakamura picks it up, Akiyama sets it and Hayashi slams it down.

 

Kindaichi turns to start walking off the court so that Watari can switch in for him now that he is on the back line but after two steps he looks up and sees that Watari is making no motion to get back on the court. He is happily chatting with Yahaba and taking a drink from his water bottle. He looks over at Kindaichi then turns back to continue his conversation with Yahaba.

 

Kindaichi doesn’t know what to do; this has never happened before. He looks over at Iwaizumi and Oikawa who are facing forward, there is no response. He looks to the front line, Kunimi is looking back at him confused as to why he is still on the court, and Matsukawa and Hanamaki are both focused on the players in front of them, with scowls on their faces.

 

The ref blows the whistle and Hayashi is serving the ball. Kindaichi panics and gets back into position, eyes blown wide.

 

 _Oh no, what am I going to do, I’m not that great at receiving_.

 

Kindaichi desperately looks over at Kunimi who seems to be the only person who has noticed that something is wrong, and Kunimi’s eyes are just as wide and he shrugs his shoulders. They hear the sound of the ball smacking Hayashi’s hand and their eyes snap forward.

 

The ball is headed straight for Kindaichi. He receives it, but the ball goes back over to the other side of the net. Kindaichi hears someone on their side of the net click their tongue in frustration and tears start to well up in his eyes. He blinks them away _._

_No, I have to stay strong. I have to get through this_.

 

“Chance ball!” Kita yells out as he picks it up. The ball goes back to Akiyama and the other middle blocker, Ueda Hiroki, is already in the air and he slams the quick down. Iwaizumi barely picks it up, but the receive is off. Oikawa rushes over and sets it to Hanamaki who scores on a wipe off of Mizushima.

 

“Nice Makki!”

 

“Thanks for covering that Oikawa.”

 

“Any time Iwa-chan.”

 

Kunimi rotates to the back and Kindaichi is still standing next to him, looking pleadingly over at Watari who is making no effort to get back onto the court.

  
All of the senpai and coaches are acting like there is nothing wrong and the predatory gazes from the other team are making Kunimi nervous. He serves the ball straight into the net and he sees both Matsukawa and Hanamaki’s shoulders drop.

 

The match continues on and the point spread just gets larger and larger. Watari only switches out for Matsukawa when he is on the back line and the faces of the second and third years are twisting into frustration more than the first years have ever seen. Kindaichi and Kunimi both struggle as they continue to try their best.

 

Then it happens.

 

It’s 13-24 with match point to Murasaki. Hanamaki had just scored and now Kindaichi is up to serve. Kindaichi serves the ball, Kita picks it up, Akiyama sets it to Mizushima and Mizushima hits it into Kunimi’s block. The ball flies to the back, Kindaichi runs after it and manages to save it and hits it back towards the court, but nobody comes to get it. The ball lands in the middle of the court untouched. The ref blows the whistle to signal the end of the match.

 

Kindaichi just looks wide eyed at the court and without knowing what else to do, falls to his knees, puts his hands over his face, and starts to cry.

 

“GOD DAMMIT OIKAWA THIS IS ENOUGH!” shouts Hanamaki. He runs over to the first year, kneels down, and grabs his wrists to pull his hands away from his face. “Kindaichi, I’m sorry.”

 

Kindaichi stops crying from the sudden shock, “Huh?”

 

“Look, we weren’t trying to hurt you, okay?” Hanamaki says pleadingly with a worried look on his face. Matsukawa had already run over to Kunimi and wrapped the trembling first year in a tight hug and started rubbing circles into his back. Watari had run over to Kindaichi as well and was apologizing.

 

Hanamaki helps Kindaichi to his feet and walks him to the bench as Matsukawa brings Kunimi over to join them. Both first years have tear stained faces as they look at their entire team standing in front of them looking worried.

 

Iwaizumi growls, “You better explain to them what’s going on before I kick your ass Oikawa.”

 

Oikawa is looking at the ground, hiding his face. When he looks up the first years are surprised to see him crying as well. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what else to do.”

 

“What do you mean, Oikawa-senpai?” asks Kindaichi.

 

Oikawa wipes his eyes and sniffs, “It hurts, doesn’t it? To be abandoned by your team.” both Kindaichi and Kunimi nod. “Does this remind you of anything?”

 

Both first years look at each other, then to the ground. “Yeah, this is exactly what we did to Kageyama.”

 

“Mmhmm. But while this was going on you guys didn’t say anything. Why didn’t you try to talk to us to see what was happening?” Oikawa asked with a pleading look on his face.

 

“The other team was scoring off of us a lot, and we were doing our best to try to get the points back ourselves….” Kindaichi started but was cut off by Iwaizumi smacking both him and Kunimi on the backs of their heads. He then drapes an arm over each first year, “We are a team, there are no individuals here. Every point scored belongs to the team, every point lost belongs to the team. You were too busy being focused on everyone being an individual part that you forgot we are a solitary unit.”

 

Oikawa runs up to both of them and squeezes them into a hug, “You guys wouldn’t think of things differently even when I tried to talk to you about what happened to Kageyama. You were so intent on the fact that you had done the right thing for yourselves that I couldn’t convince you otherwise with words, so I had to show you. I’m so sorry.” And Oikawa starts crying again into their shoulders.

 

The rest of the team gathers around and turns it into a massive group hug. Once they all separate Iwaizumi walks over to Oikawa, who is still sniveling, and rubs between his shoulders.

 

“So,” Kindaichi starts, “Does this mean that you guys still want to play with us?”

 

“OF COURSE WE DO!” the entire team shouts.

 

Kindaichi and Kunimi both jump at the sudden change in volume. Then relieved smiles go across their faces as they look at each other and nod. “We will work at trying to communicate better as well.”

 

“Good.” says Oikawa, “Do you understand now that we are all one unit? The people here,” he gestures to the entire team, “are not just individual parts that you can just replace at will because you don’t get along, okay? We are a team, a family, and you both are just as important as everyone else here. I want you to never forget that.”

 

Both first years nod, smiling brighter than ever. Oikawa quickly dives into his bag, pulls out his phone, and snaps a picture.

 

“I don’t think I have ever seen Kunimi smile like that… I had to capture the moment.” And the smile on Kunimi’s face immediately drops into a frown as the entire team laughs.

 

Advisor Irihata, Coach Mizoguchi, and Coach Takahashi stand back and watch the spectacle. “I guess it’s a good thing we believed that they could regain their trust.” says Takahashi. The other two just nod approvingly.

 

\--

 

After having that horrifying experience with their team, Kindaichi and Kunimi decided that what they had done to Kageyama was wrong. So, they decided to try to apologize to him.

 

“But how do we apologize to someone as egocentric as Kageyama?” Kindaichi grumbles as they start walking towards Karasuno from the bus stop.

 

“Well, Oikawa did say he was just really bad at communicating. Maybe he isn’t as bad as we think he is and he’s just really awkward with us.” Kunimi shrugs, “You saw how different he was with Karasuno. He even apologized to that shrimpy middle blocker when he messed up a toss.”

 

Kindaichi looks over at Kunimi, “I think that’s the most I have ever heard you say at one time…” which earns him a smack on the back of his head.

 

They reach the gate just as the volleyball team is coming out and everyone stops. Tanaka starts using his ‘intimidating look’ and Sawamura immediately grabs his face to get him to stop.

 

Kindaichi and Kunimi both shuffle their feet and look over at Kageyama. Kindaichi breaks the silence, “Kageyama… Can we, umm, talk for a minute?”

 

Kageyama nods, “I will meet you guys at Sakinoshita in a few minutes.” The team looks over with concern but they all nod and head off… except one, Hinata stays by his side. “I said I will meet you guys at Sakinoshita in a few minutes, _DUMBASS_!”

 

“Nope. I am not leaving. You are my partner now and I’m staying with you.”

 

“Ugh, fine, but if you get annoying I’m kicking you out of the conversation.”

 

Kindaichi and Kunimi stare at the shrimp in awe. _Did he just say they were partners?_

 

“So what is it that you wanted to talk about?” Kageyama asks with a genuine look of curiosity on his face.

 

Kunimi looks over at Kindaichi and nods. They both look at him, then bow their heads, “We’re sorry.”

 

Hinata jumps back and Kageyama’s eyes go wide. “W-what?”

 

They both stand straight again. “We said we’re sorry.” says Kindaichi, “What we did to you in junior high was wrong. We should have tried talking to you first instead of just shutting you out.”

 

Kageyama’s face goes blank, not knowing what to do or say.

 

“Woah…” comes a voice from behind him and startling him to his senses. He forgot Hinata was there too.

 

“Amazing, you guys made the King speechless...”

 

“SHUT UP HINATA, YOU DUMBASS!”

 

Both Kindaichi and Kunimi start laughing. Kageyama starts chasing Hinata and finally grabs him by the shirt and starts shaking him.

 

“So,” Kindaichi cuts in, making Kageyama and Hinata snap their attention back to him. “I was wondering… if you guys ever want to practice or have another match or anything…”

 

“UUOOOOOOO! YOU MEAN WE CAN PRACTICE WITH YOU GUYS AND THE GREAT KING?!” Hinata shouts.

 

“Uhh… I don’t know if Oikawa-senpai would be joining us but if you ever want to practice together, we can see if we can do that… and maybe other things too… you know,” Kindaichi scratches the back of his head shyly, “maybe be friends and what not…”

 

Hinata practically jumps out of his skin from excitement, “OF COURSE WE WANT TO!” he turns to face Kageyama, “RIGHT, KAGEYAMA?!”

 

Kageyama just looks over at the two, a small smile climbs onto his face, “I think I would like that.”

**Author's Note:**

> I never thought it would be so dang awkward to put "Sawamura" instead of "Daichi". But since Kindaichi doesn't know him by his first name.... I can't just put Daichi down now can I?
> 
> You can yell at me on tumblr at harvestmoonpeoples
> 
> I'm sorry I probably shouldn't write. English was my worst subject for a reason.


End file.
